Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave: A Banquet in the Grave : Finding Hope in the Power of the Gospel (Resources for Changing Lives)

By emphasizing the role of the heart in the worship of self and substance, Welch forces the addict to face the grim reality that who or what he worships will control his life. When he idolizes his selfish desire for a substance then there can only be bondage, but when he worships God more than himself then the liberating truth of the gospel will always set him free. As a pastor, biblical counselor, and a redeemed (not recovering) ex-heroin addict, I believe Dr. Welch has finally given every pastor, theologian, layman, and anyone caught in the bondage of idolatry / addiction a biblical road map to true and lasting freedom.

A worship disorder: this is how Edward T. Welch views addictions. Will we worship ourselves and our own desires, he writes, or will we worship the true God? With this lens the author discovers far more in Scripture on addictions than passages on drunkenness. There we learn the addict's true condition: like guests at a banquet thrown by the woman Folly, he is already in the grave (Prov. 9:13-18). Can we not escape our addictions? If we're willing to follow Jesus, the author says we have immense hope hope in God's forgiving grace, hope in God's love that is faithful even when we are not, and hope that God can give power so that we are no longer mastered by the addiction. Each chapter concludes with Practical Theology, guidance As You Face Your Own Addictions and As You Help Someone Else.